Answers to your questions

In the back of my mind as I write this blog I have security concerns. I would rather not have a flashing neon sign that points to my office and home. Suly is a safe place, but I am still aware of where I live. Then I realized that was kind of ridiculous, because they know who we are. Just yesterday Kari received mail. We were both completely shocked because there are no addresses here. Except, duh, they know who we are. For all of its growth, Suly is a small town and believe me, we stand out. If anyone can figure out what the brothel looking building is, then I am sure they can find me, except everyone already knows who I am and where I live!

In answer to your transportation question- we have security guards and drivers. Thankfully Kari speaks Arabic because our head of security speaks Arabic. Most of our guards speak Kurdish. In that case we manage to communicate in broken Kurdish, English and Arabic. I should say Kari manages because I am still pretty mute. I plan on taking Arabic lessons with one of our staff starting after the end of Ramadan. In the meantime I just keep picking up stray words.

Oh the heat. Ironically, it has been a bit cooler. The temperature is in Celsius and I have chosen not to know! In Baghdad in a parked car the temperature can get up to over 160 degrees. True story. Suly is much cooler thankfully, but it is still over 100 degrees. We are lucky because when the electricity goes out the generator kicks in. Sometimes there is a delay though and it does start to get uncomfortable. Not unbearable, just uncomfortable. This afternoon I was in the bathroom and the power went out. It was pitch black and I did shriek like a little girl. Usually when it happens at night, either Kari or I are on the computer and so we have the glow of the computer. The next thing we need to find our flashlights! As I said, we are lucky, most of the staff live in neighborhoods with rolling blackouts and so they do not have air conditioning through the night. You can kind of understand why they are a bit pissed off at Americans.

Out my window

Somebody said they wanted to know what I saw out my window. Out of my bedroom window- not much. Just the apartment complex and the parking lot. If I lean off the balcony I could probably see the guards smoking. The view out of my living room (which I share) is much different. Out of one window is a view of the newly built mosque, which is quite beautiful. There are still a bunch of construction trucks surrounding it though. Then you see the hotel, which glows orange at night and looks a bit like a brothel. Past that is a a part of the city, which is a sea of drab colors and electrical lines strung about. Then past that are the mountains, which are a greyish green, but glow when the sun is setting. They also glow when they are on fire, which happened my first night here. I went running to Kari and she said, "oh yeah, they do that". They burn off the brush in order to prevent fire, kind of like they used to do on the prairie (good thing I read all those Little House on the Prairie books. Fire is a serious threat here. Just last month a hotel caught on fire and instead of evacuating the guests the hotel owner called the owners of the cars parked below. People were jumping out of the windows and most of them died. So, after hearing that story you can understand my fear. We do have a fire extinguisher. I checked.

Out of the other window is a huge building that is only partially built and blocks a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding mountains. Who knows if the building will ever be completed. Considering what I have seen of the skeleton, I don't know if I will ever set foot in it. Building standards around here are nonexistent. The light in my office is not quite secured and there are electrical wires just hanging out. When you walk into a room it looks really nice, but then you stop and look and it is just off. For example, the tiles in one of the bathrooms have a border of flowers that are really pretty, except one of the tiles was hung upside down.

A view out of my window leads to a segue about building standards. Ironically, as I type this the lights are out. Which happens frequently. Usually the electricity goes out and the generator kicks in. This country couldn't run without generators. This time though, the generators haven't kicked on. Anyway, that pretty much mimics my day. This morning I got up with one plan, but then I had to go get my residency visa and the day was hijacked by something else. The good news is there is an Iraqi visa in my passport that is good for two months. I have to go back then and get another one. In sh'allah it will be for a year.

Week One

First impression of Iraq is it is hot. You step out of the airplane on to the tarmac and the heat rips your breath away. I picked up my luggage and Kari was at the airport waiting for me. It's always delightful to have someone pick you up from the airport, especially when you are carrying a ton of luggage! I had Tuesday to settle in and then Wednesday and Thursday I dove right in and started working.

We have a building in an apartment complex where we live and work. Kari and I both have the master bedroom suite on different floors and then we share a kitchen and living room. It is kind of odd to live where you work, but I cannot deny that the commute is easy!

Everyone I have met has been so nice. We went out with someone Thursday night to the movies and to dinner. The movie theater is pretty new and they show American films with Kurdish subtitles. Friday night I finally met a gentleman that has worked with us in Iraq for seven years. Kari and I went out to dinner with him and his wife to an Iraqi restaurant. The food was really good. I had a rice dish with okra in a tomato based sauce. Afterward we went to a party hosted by some expats in our complex.

All in all a wonderful first week in Iraq.

Still in Chicago

I wanted to get a blog up and running before I left. Welcome. I leave for Istanbul Saturday night where I have one day for some r and r, then I fly to Sulaimaniyah next Tuesday. I am exhilerated, excited and freaked out all at once!